PRESBYTERIAN  WORK 
IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

1899-1912 


PROGRESS: 

Missionaries  number  . . 44 

Churches  number  ...  63 

Church  members  . . . 13000 

Hospitals  ....  3 

Schools  . 3 Students  . 600 

Stations— 104,  covering  14  provinces. 
Ordained  Filipinos  . . . 11 

Evangelists  — local  — Who  can  say? 

PROBLEMS : 


How  to  man  our  fields— American  workers. 
How  to  man  our  fields— Filipino  workers. 
How  to  get  a hold  on  the  new  generation. 
How  to  deepen  spiritual  life  of  the  members. 
How  to  secure  money — 

( a ) To  put  up  new  building  for  Ellin- 
wood  Girls’  School. 

( b ) To  greatly  increase  the  plant  at 
Silliman. 

How  to  train  the  Filipino  Church  to  self- 
support  and  direction. 


PROSPECTS: 

A united  Evangelical  Church  for  the 
Philippines. 

The  Union  College  projected— Plans  now 
being  studied. 

“Silliman”,  the  College  for  the  Visayas. 

“Union  Christian”,  the  College  for  the 
Luzon  Provinces. 

Girls’  School— Ellinwood  in  larger  building. 

New  School  at  Dumaguete. 

Dormitories  in  every  provincial  capital. 

A Union  Bible  Training  School,  growing 
from  the  present  institutions. 


THE  PHILIPPINE  MISSION 
Progress  — Problems  — Prospects 

• Rev.  J.  B.  Rodgers,  D.D. 

The  first  years  of  the  life  of  the  Philip- 
pines Mission  of  our  church  were  character- 
ized by  remarkable  progress  as  far  as 
outward  signs  go.  For  several  years  the 
numbers  reported  to  the  Board  doubled 
yearly.  Great  movements  took  place  where- 
by many  large  groups  were  brought  into  the 
communion  of  our  church.  This  last  seven 
years  however  have  seen  no  such  increase  in 
numbers.  The  old  restless  desire  for  some- 
thing better  at  times  scarcely  distinguishable 
from  the  desire  for  something  different  has 
diminished  almost  to  the  point  of  vanishing. 
The  social  and  party  lines  which  in  the  first 
years  aided  greatly  in  making  people  acces- 
sible to  our  work,  have  hardened  into  walls 
of  division  and  each  man  is  content  in  the 
state  wherein  he  finds  himself.  There  is, 
however,  none  the  less,  progress — in  fact  the 
advance  is  just  as  real,  for  the  churches 
have  become  “consolidated”;  that  is,  to  use 
the  Portuguese  expression,  to  become  solid. 

Depth  rather  than  breadth  has  character- 
ized the  work  of  these  last  years.  It  has 
been  a most  genuine  advance  for  the  organ- 
ization of  the  congregations  has  become  a 
reality  and  they  are  managing  their  own 
affairs  with  courage  and  skill  in  many  places. 

As  one  glances  back  over  the  thirteen  years 
which  have  elapsed  since  our  work  began 
in  Manila — the  first  and  greatest  blessing 
that  the  Protestant  Churches  have  brought  to 
the  Philippines — has  undoubtedly  been  the 

* Dr.  Rodgers  was  the  first  missionary  sent  by 
the  Presbyterian  Board  to  the  Philippine  Islands. 
— (Editor). 


open  Bible  in  the  dialects  and  languages  of 
the  country.  In  the  Spanish  days  a few 
people  owned  Spanish  Bibles  which  were  so 
expensive  that  few  could  afford  them.  Special 
license  had  to  be  obtained  in  order  that  one 
might  read  them. 

In  the  new  order  of  things  in  the  Roman 
Church,  we  firmly  expected  that  the  Ameri- 
can leaders  would  take  steps  immediately  to 
put  into  the  hands  of  their  people  authorized 
versions  of  the  Scriptures,  but  as  far  back 
as  the  public  knows  not  a thing  has  been 
done  toward  this  most  necessary  reform. 
The  people  still  study  the  “Mahal  na 
Pasion”,  a blank  verse  paraphrase  of  the 
principal  incidents  in  the  Gospel  history,  with 
a mention  of  the  story  of  creation.  The 
title  means  the  “Sacred  Passion”.  This  book 
is  chanted  and  repeated  in  thousands  of 
homes  in  all  the  islands  and  is  a real  bene- 
fit, although  its  history  is  faulty  and  much 
of  its  teaching  erroneous. 

The  two  Bible  Societies  were  early  on  the 
ground.  The  British  Society  had  transla- 
tions of  the  Gospels  in  Pangasinan  ready 
ten  years  before  American  occupation,  and 
the  work  on  the  Tagalog  Gospels  began 
with  the  war  with  Spain  and  versions 
of  three  Gospels  and  the  Book  of 

Acts  were  ready  for  distribution  in  the 
city  of  Manila  very  soon  after  the  occu- 
pation. This  society  has  followed  up  this 
good  beginning  with  the  completion  of  the 
translation  of  the  whole  Bible  in  this  prin- 
cipal dialect,  has  this  past  year  published  a 
revision  of  the  New  Testament  and  is  now 
working  on  the  revision  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. They  have  also  published  the  New 
Testament  in  Bicol,  the  dialect  of  Southern 
Luzon,  completed  the  early  work  in  Panga- 
sinan and  issued  some  gospels  in  Ibanag,  the 
dialect  of  the  Cagayan  Valley.  The  Ameri- 
can Society  has  not  been  behind  in  its  good 
9 


work.  It  took  the  responsibility  of  the  Ilo- 
cano  and  Visayan  dialects,  two  of  the  most 
important  in  the  archipelago. 

They  have  completed  the  Bible  in  Ilocano 
and  one  of  the  Visayan  dialects,  the  New 
Testament  in  one  and  the  Gospels  in  another 
of  the  same  general  group. 

They  have  also  published  the  Testament 
in  Pampangan. 

It  may  seem  that  this  has  had  little  to  do 
with  the  progress  of  our  Mission  or  of  the 
Evangelical  Church,  but  it  has  been  of  the 
greatest  benefit  to  all,  and  we  can  claim  our 
share  in  the  work,  for  the  support  of  the 
Societies  comes  from  the  different  churches 
and  the  missionaries  have  helped  to  a large 
extent  in  making  the  translations. 

The  printed  word  is  establishing  a litera- 
ture for  these  dialects,  many  of  the  smaller 
of  which  had  nothing  printed  beyond  a few 
tales  and  religious  books  of  the  olden  time. 

The  missions  and  churches  have  reaped  the 
benefit  of  the  work  of  the  Societies.  The 
blessing  of  this  work  cannot  be  estimated. 
Again  once  the  word  was  printed  and  sold 
or  distributed,  there  came  next  the  task  of 
explaining  it,  of  calling  the  attention  of  the 
people  to  it,  of  exciting  their  interest  in  the 
same  and  of  applying  it  to  their  consciences. 
The  word  is  scattered  and  becomes  the  seed, 
the  germ  of  a beneficent  plague  that,  con- 
tagious as  the  cholera,  has  made  its  way 
rapidly  across  the  provinces.  Like  the 
Bureau  of  Health,  the  Missions  watch  for 
the  breaking  out  of  the  new  influence  in 
the  towns,  and  whenever  indications  appear 
of  an  awakening  or  a promising  inquiry,  they 
are  there  as  soon  as  possible  to  take  the 
opportunity  offered.  Thus  groups  of  believ- 
ers arose  spontaneously  in  hundreds  of 
towns  and  some  prospered  and  became 
churches  and  others  disappeared  because  of 
the  stones  or  thorns. 


3 


The  Filipino  is  a natural  born  talker  and 
sometimes  the  good  talker  makes  a good 
preacher.  A great  many  try  to  preach. 
Our  churches  are  thus  cared  for,  the  Gospel 
News  is  scattered  by  the  members  rather 
than  by  any  ordained  or  special  ministry. 

Believing  as  we  do  that  the  preached  word 
is  the  great  need  of  the  people  and  that 
through  it  only  can  the  Filipinos  make  any 
real  progress,  our  evangelists  have  not  hesi- 
tated to  appeal  to  the  “aspirations”  of  their 
fellow  countrymen  on  the  ground  of  patriot- 
ism to  accept  the  Gospel. 

Great  progress  is  noticeable  in  the  im- 
provement in  the  preaching.  At  first,  before 
we  were  able  to  speak  or  understand  well 
the  preaching,  much  of  it  was,  no  doubt, 
profitless,  because  the  preachers  had  not  the 
real  grasp  of  the  Gospel.  As  one  of  our 
evangelists,  a man  entirely  devoted  to  Christ 
in  the  later  years  of  his  life,  said:  “At  first 
my  services  consisted  of  ‘a  hymn,  a prayer, 
a sermon  on  ‘Death  to  the  Friars’;  ‘Let  us 
sing  the  Doxology,  Amen.’  ” The  study  of 
the  word  has  so  deepened  the  lives  of  some 
of  the  ministers  that  they  are  now  really 
preaching  the  whole  Gospel  of  Christ. 

The  next  point  in  which  progress  is  noted 
is  in  the  organized  church.  Some  feel  that 
our  whole  duty  is  to  preach  the  Gospel  and 
then  tell  the  people  who  listen  to  continue 
in  the  communion  in  which  they  were  born 
and  brought  up.  This  plan  has  the  serious 
fault  that,  however  hard  people  have  tried 
to  do  this,  the  church  in  which  they  were 
born  seems  to  have  no  place  for  them. 

Common  belief,  sympathy  born  of  the 
pressure  of  persecution,  lead  believers  to- 
gether, and  the  only  thing  to  do  is  to  give 
them  such  an  organization  that  will  conserve 
the  teaching  they  have  already  received  and 
show  the  way  to  better  and  higher  things 
of  the  Christian  life.  These  last  years  have 
4 


shown  marked  progress  in  the  life  of  the 
congregation  as  well  as  that  of  the  individual 
Christians.  Some  who  scoffed  were  inclined 
to  say  in  the  early  days  that  the  faith  of 
the  Filipino  convert  was  like  the  chapels 
they  built  at  first  of  perishable  and  inflam- 
mable material,  bamboo  and  nipa  thatch. 

If  such  were  the  case  then  the  fact  that 
many  of  the  churches  are  replacing  their  old 
buildings  with  neat  little  wooden  buildings 
with  galvanized  iron  roofs  is  an  indication  of 
the  stability  of  their  faith. 

The  Home  Missionary  Society  of  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Manila  has  raised  a small  sum  for 
each  of  the  last  three  years  and  has  kept 
one  or  two  evangelists  in  the  field.  This  has 
given  them  greater  courage  to  undertake  self 
support.  There  are  now  five  churches  which 
have  their  own  pastors  either  supported  in 
whole  or  part  by  the  congregations. 

This  does  not  mean  that  the  others  have 
pastors  supported  by  foreign  funds.  They 
get  along  with  such  help  as  an  occasional 
visit  from  a missionary  or  traveling  evangel- 
ist can  give  them,  and  preach  to  each  other 
or  are  led  by  their  elders  and  local 
evangelists. 

The  larger  organizations  of  Presbytery  and 
Synod  are  gradually  taking  their  part  in  the 
managing  of  the  church.  Owing  to  the  wide 
distances  which  now  separate  our  Presby- 
teries, all  our  emphasis  is  placed  on  the  de- 
velopment of  the  individual  Presbytery  and 
the  Synod  of  the  Philippines  is  for  the  time 
a council  which  exercises  little  supervision  or 
authority.  It  is  here,  however,  and  ready 
to  take  its  place  as  the  grand  council  of  the 
church  in  the  islands.  Almost  all  missions 
are  looking  forward  to  the  uniting  at  no  dis- 
tant date  of  all  the  Filipino  churches  in  one 
Evangelical  Church  of  the  Philippine  Islands. 
The  missions  will,  of  course,  continue  their 
separate  identity,  but  there  is  no  reason  why 
5 


the  result  of  our  labors  should  not  some  day 
form  one  body. 

Our  Evangelical  Union  has  been  a great 
blessing  during  these  ten  years  that  have 
elapsed  since  its  foundation. 

Out  of  the  needs  of  our  new  congrega- 
tions have  grown  the  many  institutions  which 
are  managed  or  supported  by  the  missions. 
Our  own  Silliman  Institute,  with  its  five  hun- 
dred students,  is  easily  the  first  of  the 
schools.  The  Baptists  have  an  excellent  in- 
dustrial school  at  Iloilo.  Our  theological — 
or  better  called — our  Bible  training  work,  is 
done  in  the  Ellinwood  Seminary,  which  is 
united  for  practical  purposes  with  the  Metho- 
dist Training  School,  and  with  the  like  In- 
stitution of  the  United  Brethren  Mission. 
The  Christian  Mission  has  smaller  training 
schools  for  Evangelists  in  Manila  and  Via- 
gan  and  the  Baptists — its  school  at  Iloilo. 

All  the  larger  missions  have  their  semi- 
naries or  Bible  schools  for  girls;  our  own, 
the  Ellinwood,  at  Manila,  is  second  to  none 
in  its  efficiency.  Medical  work  has  been  de- 
veloped. Our  hospitals  at  Iloilo,  Dumaguete 
and  Tagbilaran  are  treating  thousands  of 

patients.  Money  is  on  hand  for  another  hos- 
pital to  be  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Carter, 
who  has  done  a most  blessed  medical  work 
in  southern  Leyte. 

The  Methodists  have  an  orphan  asylum  in 
the  north  and  the  Episcopalians  one  in 

Manila.  Both  missions  have  hospitals  in  the 
city  of  Manila. 

The  attention  of  all  missions  has  been 
turned  to  the  getting  hold  and  caring  for 

the  young  men  who  flock  to  the  centres  for 

education.  Dormitories  or  hostels  have 
been  opened  in  many  of  the  provinces  and 
in  Manila  the  original  dormitory  of  our  mis- 
sion is  being  followed  by  the  establishment 
of  similar  institutions,  far  better  housed,  by 
6 


the  way,  of  the  Methodist,  the  Episcopal 
missions  and  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

They  afford  a splendid  opportunity  for  the 
getting  hold  of  the  new  Filipino  and  of  bring- 
ing him  in  touch  with  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
The  Master  alone  knows  the  value  of  the 
service  that  we  have  been  enabled  to  do. 
Maybe  we  have  valued  it  too  highly,  maybe 
too  lightly.  No  doubt  exists  in  our  minds 
that  there  is  need  for  better  service  on  the 
part  of  the  force  already  on  the  field  and 
for  a greater  force  for  the  undertaking  and 
fulfilling  of  our  duty.  Our  responsibility  as 
a church  is  for  certain  sections  of  the  islands 
and  to  really  undertake  it  we  should  about 
double  our  present  force. 

Our  work  is  so  bound  up  with  the  work  of 
all  the  missions  that  this  article  has  at- 
tempted to  review  them  all.  What  we  have 
said  of  our  work  is  true  in  large  measure 
of  the  others.  You  can  pray  as  easily  for 
us  all  as  for  a few,  so  remember  to  help. 


7 


WONDERFUL  CHANGES  IN  THE 
PHILIPPINES 


Rev.  C.  N.  Magill 


After  a very  pleasant  and  profitable  fur- 
lough in  the  States  for  nine  months  and  a 
four  months’  trip  back  via  England,  Europe, 
and  Palestine,  the  latter  of  which  being  es- 
pecially interesting  and  helpful,  we  are  again 
in  Tayabas.  We  were  not  aware  of  the  rapid 
changes  taking  place  here  until  we  had  been 
absent  fourteen  months  and  then  returned 
and  were  forcibly  impressed  by  our  observa- 
tions on  every  hand.  When  we  landed  in 
Manila,  we  observed  that  she  is  making  won- 
derful material  progress.  We  observed  that 
since  we  left  a great  modern  hotel  had  been 
built  at  a cost  of  P 1,000,000  (1,000,000 
pesos,  or  $500,000  gold);  the  new  Civil 
Hospital,  costing  almost  as  much,  had  been 
put  into  operation,  a commodious  Normal 
School  building  had  been  erected  and  a new 
Medical  College  had  been  opened.  Besides 
these  we  noticed  the  Army  and  Navy  Club, 
the  Elks’  Home,  the  large  Government  Docks, 
the  new  business  buildings,  many  new  homes, 
improved  streets,  enlarged  and  beautiful 
botanical  gardens,  aquarium,  and  many  other 
improvements  that  have  all  been  installed 
within  a short  time. 

The  Philippine  University  has  been  estab- 
lished, the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  has  been  put  on  a 
very  successful  working  basis,  with  large 
plans  for  more  buildings,  and  the  extension 
of  the  work  among  the  Filipinos,  and  a large 
union  plan  is  on  foot  by  which  the  work  of 
the  Evangelical  Churches  will  be  strength- 
ened and  broadened  by  the  organization  of 
a Union  Church,  and  establishing  the  Union 
Christian  College  of  the  Philippines. 

The  material,  intellectual  and  spiritual, 
8 


progress  that  is  so  marked  in  Manila  is 
spreading  out  into  the  provinces  and  to  all 
parts  of  the  islands.  It  can  be  noticed  on 
every  hand.  We  were  pleased  to  learn  that 
we  could  almost  reach  our  Tayabas  Station 
by  train,  whereas  in  the  past  it  has  had  to 
be  reached  by  a two  days’  hard  “hike”  over 
bad  roads,  or  on  slow,  dirty  little  boats. 
Going  by  train  as  far  as  Tiaon,  the  first 
town  in  our  province,  we  observed  that  the 
railroad  had  reached  many  towns  in  Laguna 
Province,  through  which  we  had  to  pass.  At 
Tiaon,  the  terminus  at  present,  we  were  sur- 
prised to  find  automobiles  “for  hire”  at  the 
station  instead  of  the  little,  old  two-wheeled 
karromata.  So,  within  a little  more  than  an 
hour,  we  traveled  by  auto  to  Lucena,  our 
destination — a distance  of  twenty-five  miles, 
with  much  more  comfort  and  with  less  ex- 
pense than  ever  before.  We  observed  prog- 
ress in  Lucena,  the  capital  of  our  province. 
A new  Municipal  Building  has  been  built  at 
a cost  of  P 50,000;  new  streets  have  been 
made  and  two  fine  steel  bridges  have  been 
built  over  the  small  rivers  that  run  on  each 
side  of  the  town;  new  homes  have  been 
built  and  a contract  has  been  let  for  the 
new  High  School,  Intermediate  and  Trade 
School,  which  is  to  cost  P 1,000,000,  and 
also  a contract  has  just  been  let  for  the 
building  of  an  electric  light  and  ice  plant. 
The  railroad  is  being  pushed  to  this  point 
and  trains  are  promised  by  December  1st. 
This  will  enable  us  to  reach  Manila  in  five 
hours,  and  will  put  six  or  seven  towns  in 
easy  reach  of  Lucena,  and  also  give  us  two 
mails  daily. 

After  looking  around  a long  time,  we 
finally  found  an  old  Spanish  house  for  rent 
at  POO  per  month,  which  had  been  fitted 
up  by  a Filipino  doctor  for  a hospital,  but 
being  actively  engaged  in  politics  and  other 
things,  he  did  not  have  time  to  run  it,  and 
9 


10 


'omlition  of  road  before  Government  inntlo  Improvements 


gave  up  the  plan  and  turned  the  “hospital” 
over  to  us  permanently.  So,  although  just 
back  from  furlough,  we  are  in  the  hospital 
all  the  time.  The  house  has  nine  or  ten 
rooms,  small  and  large,  and  proves  very 
satisfactory  for  our  purpose.  We  have  ten 
boys  and  girls  living  with  us,  and  all  attend 
the  Public  Schools  and  High  School.  They 
have  come  up  from  their  respective  towns, 
having  finished  their  grades  there  and  are 
continuing  their  studies  here  in  the  provincial 
seat.  Our  house  is  a kind  of  “dormitory” 
and  the  students  run  a co-operative  boarding 
club,  paying  cost  of  their  food,  etc.  We  help 
them  with  their  studies,  teach  them  English, 
and  throw  the  influences  of  a Christian  home 
about  them,  and  have  family  worship  with 
them  each  evening.  We  have  services  on 
Sabbaths  in  our  basement,  and  the  children 
help  us  with  the  singing  and  in  various  ways, 
as  they  are  most  all  active  Christians.  Our 
work  here  is  new,  having  no  organization 
yet,  but  hoping  to  have  one  before  very 
long  by  the  help  of  the  Lord.  We  have  been 
very  much  impressed  with  the  need  of  a 
Medical  Missionary  and  hospital,  and  a dor- 
mitory for  students  who  come  up  to  the  High 
School  here.  Many  of  them  have  no  good 
place  to  stay  and  there  is  a fine  opportunity 
to  throw  Christian  influences  around  them, 
if  we  had  a dormitory  in  which  they  could 
board  and  receive  the  benefits  of  some  super- 
vision, a reading  room,  Bible  classes,  etc.  We 
are  especially  in  need  of  a Medical  Mission- 
ary, for  the  Army  Doctor  has  been  trans- 
ferred, and  the  little  hospital  at  the  Scout 
Post  has  recently  been  abolished  and  will 
no  more  be  installed  here,  and  hence  there 
is  at  present  no  permanent  American  doctor 
in  this  very  large  province  with  its  popula- 
tion of  225,000  people.  A small  hospital 
here  would  be  a great  blessing  to  the  people 
and  a great  help  to  our  work. 

11 


12 


Improvements  In  same  road  shown  in  preceding  illustration  two  years  later.  I hese 
changes  are  being  made  all  through  the  Islands 


We  have  been  very  busy  since  we  re- 
turned studying  the  Tagalog  language,  visit- 
ing our  churches,  setting  up  housekeeping, 
calling  and  receiving  callers,  writing,  etc. 

We  have  been  over  our  field  and  find  the 
congregations  in  good  condition,  some  of 
them  having  made  advances  both  in  num- 
ber, spirituality,  and  efficiency,  and  also  in 
the  improvement  of  their  chapels.  During 
our  visits  to  the  churches  we  held  classes 
and  services  for  about  a week  in  each  place, 
and  it  was  gratifying  to  see  how  the  people 
attended  and  took  part. 

We  had  a special  Bible  Class  and  Con- 
ference in  Lukban  in  April  conducted  by  Dr. 
Rogers,  Pastor,  Estrella,  Misses  Kalb  (now 
Mrs.  Rath)  and  Rodenburg  and  ourselves. 
One  thing  that  added  special  interest  to  this 
occasion  was  the  ordination  of  Mr.  Francisco 
Beltran,  a native  of  Lukban,  our  first  station, 
and  who  has  been  working  with  us  as  an 
Evangelist  for  five  years.  He  has  done  good 
work  as  an  Evangelist  and  now  that  he  is 
ordained,  we  believe  that  he  will  become  even 
more  efficient  and  useful. 


13 


THE  NURSE  PROBLEM  AT  THE 
MISSION  HOSPITAL 


Dr.  J.  Andrew  Hall. 


The  training  of  nurses  presents  slight  dif- 
ference among  the  cities  of  the  United  States 
where  nurses  exist  as  a distinct  class,  but 
as  there  has  never  been  any  who  could  be 
called  by  that  name  in  the  Philippine  Islands 
prior  to  six  years  ago,  some  of  our  experi- 
ences may  be  interesting  to  the  people  of 
America. 

Anticipating  the  opening  of  the  new  hos- 
pital building  in  Iloilo  in  1906,  two  of  our 
converts  were  selected  for  training  and  con- 
sented to  try  it  for  a time  at  least.  They 
received  such  instruction  as  could  be  given 
apart  from  the  wards  during  the  most  of 
the  year  1905,  but  when  the  hospital  was 
finally  opened  in  1906  they  were  treated  by 
the  patients  as  the  most  menial  servants 
and  addressed  as  such  by  some  of  the  pa- 
tients, while  others  regarded  them  with  even 
less  respect.  Consequently  they  both  left 
the  hospital  at  the  end  of  the  two  months’ 
probation,  refusing  to  assist  any  longer  in 
such  work. 

Mrs.  Brinton  (now  Mrs.  Bordman)  who  had 
come  from  America  to  take  charge  of  the 
nursing,  was  left  alone  with  more  patients 
than  she  could  care  for  and  had  no  one  to 
assist  her.  One  of  the  patients  in  the  hos- 
pital at  the  time  was  a widow  woman  with 
one  daughter,  a girl  of  17,  who  constantly 
visited  her  invalid  mother.  Also  there  were 
two  country  girls  engaged  in  the  laundry. 
These  three,  seeing  the  situation  in  which 
Mrs.  Brinton  was  placed,  came  to  the  rescue 
and  offered  to  help.  They  thus  became  the 
first  class,  two  of  whom,  together  with  an- 
other graduating  in  1909  as  the  first  trained 
14 


nurses  in  the  Islands.  *The  fourth,  mentioned 
above,  was  a young  girl  of  15  or  16  who 
sought  shelter  in  the  hospital,  having  run 
away  from  her  home  to  get  rid  of  marrying 
a man  who  she  disliked  and  who  was  the 
choice  of  her  parents.  She  took  the  full 
three  years’  training,  became  an  efficient 
nurse,  neat  and  gentle  and  acceptable  to  all 
classes  of  patients,  and  then  was  dismissed 
from  the  hospital  along  with  one  of  the  dis- 
pensary clerks  — in  disgrace.  The  same 
treatment  had  to  be  meted  out  to  one  of  the 
other  three  only  a few  months  before  the 
time  of  graduation  for  the  same  cause.  These 
unfortunate  occurrences  are  all  too  common 
among  the  people  despite  the  most  careful 
vigilance  on  the  part  of  the  parents  or 
guardians. 

But  the  ball  was  rolling.  Word  had 
reached  acquaintances  of  the  girls  that  the 
work  at  the  hospital  was  novel  and  pleasant, 
the  food  was  good,  and  the  life  agreeable. 
Applicants  became  numerous.  Some  stayed 
a week,  others  a month  or  two,  but  most  of 
them  had  to  be  dismissed  sooner  or  later 
because  for  one  reason  or  another  they  gave 
no  promise  of  ever  making  nurses  of  even 
a poor  grade.  The  number  of  those  in  train- 
ing consequently  grew  slowly.  The  two 
American  nurses,  Mrs.  Brinton  and  Miss 
Klein,  had  to  depend  upon  themselves  to  do 
the  nursing  in  all  the  more  serious  cases, 
and  even  the  work  left  to  the  Filipinos  had 
to  be  very  closely  watched.  Then  the  applicants 
grew  less  in  number  and  the  work  increased. 
We  searched  for  other  girls  who  might  pos- 
sibly serve  and  begged  them  to  take  training, 
but  to  no  purpose.  Friends  were  asked  to 
help  us  get  girls  with  the  same  result.  As 
fast  as  one  entered,  another  had  to  be  dis- 
missed or  left  to  get  married  at  the  request 


Note. — See  cover  page  for  second  class — 1010. 

15 


of  the  parents.  Finally,  about  a year  ago,  a 
letter  was  circulated  among  the  missionaries 
far  and  near  asking  for  applicants.  Mr. 
Jansen,  of  Cebu,  came  to  the  rescue,  first 
with  three  and  later  with  six  more,  and  later 
Dr.  Graham  sent  us  one  from  Bohol  to  be 
trained  in  order  to  assist  him  in  the  hospital 
at  Tagbilaran.  These  latter  are  all  girls  who 
have  had  some  education  in  the  public 
schools  and  have  passed  from  three  to  five 
grades.  They  know  a little  English  and  can 
read  and  write  to  some  extent,  whereas  the 
earlier  ones  had  to  be  taught  really  every- 
thing they  now  know.  The  training  of  these 
has  been  exceedingly  difficult  for  they  were 
not  only  ignorant,  but  lacked  mental  dis- 
cipline and  had  no  fixed  habits  of  life  that 
were  helpful.  The  training  has  been  an  edu- 
cation to  them.  Felipa,  irresponsible  at  first  and 
deceptive,  hot  tempered  and  saucy,  has  become 
serious  and  bears  her  burden  of  responsibility, 
is  in  charge  of  the  operating  room  and  com- 
pares favorably  with  nurses  in  other  parts 
of  the  world.  Concepcion,  at  first  stupid, 
giddy  and  careless,  has  become  neat,  quiet 
and  efficient,  a general  favorite  and  a good 
moral  influence  among  the  others.  Solidad. 
a mere  child  of  15,  who  had  run  away  from 
home  to  avoid  marrying  a man  she  disliked, 
supersensitive,  childish  and  naughty,  has  be- 
come a dignified,  careful  and  efficient  nurse 
and  is  especially  good  with  children.  A 
prominent  Filipino  of  the  old  school,  when  a 
patient  in  the  hospital,  said  to  me  one  day: 
“These  girls  have  something  I have  not  seen 
in  others,  a spirit  of  self-reliance  and  quiet 
attentiveness  to  their  work  which  I think 
must  come  from  the  influence  of  the  Gospel.” 
This  is  true  at  least  in  part.  They  can  be 
appealed  to  in  a way  that  others  cannot  and 
are  more  trustworthy.  We  now  have  a staff 
of  20,  including  3 of  the  6 that  have  already 
graduated.  There  is  being  developed  an 
16 


esprit  de  corp,  a pride  in  efficiency  and  a 
realization  of  the  responsibility  placed  upon 
them.  Ours  is  the  oldest  training  school  in 
the  Islands  and  we  are  endeavoring  to  keep 
it  second  to  none  in  efficiency  and  training; 
not  only  is  it  our  aim  to  send  out  trained 
nurses  but  to  train  them  to  be,  by  their  work 
and  conversation,  true  witnesses  in  the  sick 
room  for  the  Great  Master  whose  work 
they  do. 


17 


THE  TRAINING  OF  THE  FILIPINO 
CHURCH 


Rev.  George  Wm.  Wright 


The  training  classes  are  in  session  for  one 
to  two  weeks  and  we  put  as  much  into  them 
as  we  feel  is  wise.  There  is  a devotional 
service  from  8.00  to  8.30  each  morning,  and 
at  8.30  the  classes  proper  begin.  This  year 
the  Rev.  Guillermo  Zarco  took  the  first  hour, 
giving  the  men  and  women  together  talks  on 
practical  matters  with  which  the  Batangas 
churches  are  especially  dealing  at  this  time. 
Then  the  men  and  women  were  separated 
into  two  classes  and  a third  class  of  young 
men  and  women  understanding  English  was 
also  formed.  Miss  Kalb,  of  our  Ellinwood 
School  for  Girls,  taught  the  women  along  the 
lines  of  woman’s  work  in  the  churches,  and 
Miss  Rodenberg,  another  of  the  teachers, 
taught  the  young  men  and  women  in  Bible 
study,  using  English. 

I took  the  men  and  for  the  first  hour  gave 
them  homiletic  work,  making  sermon  plans 
and  elaborating  them.  They  are  always 
anxious  to  get  hold  of  homiletic  material,  for 
the  Filipinos  are  ready  speakers  and  enjoy 
preaching  the  Gospel.  For  the  second  hour 
I gave  them  instruction  in  Hurlburt’s  Teach- 
er’s Training  Lessons,  which  we  have  had 
translated  into  Tagalog  and  find  very  help- 
ful. We  also  used  the  large  wall  maps  pub- 
lished by  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Educa- 
tion. The  endeavor  is,  of  course,  to  help 
toward  intelligent  Bible  study.  The  morn- 
ing classes  close  at  11.30.  We  begin  again 
in  the  afternoon  and  this  year  we  have  put 
emphasis  on  the  Sunday  School  work.  From 
3.00  to  3.45  the  men  and  women  separately 
are  taught  the  Sunday  School  lesson  for  the 
weeks  just  ahead  and  then  for  the  next  hour 
18 


we  have  a model  Sunday  School.  The  Sun- 
day School  idea  is  taking  deep  root  among 
the  churches  and  the  people  realize  what 
great  opportunity  there  is  in  it.  A year  ago 
the  Philippine  Islands  Sunday  School  Associ- 
ation was  organized  and  Sunday  School  work 
is  now  being  pushed  everywhere  over  the 
Islands.  The  model  Sunday  School  is,  of 
course,  designed  to  be  an  object  lesson,  and 
the  more  of  these  Sunday  School  hours  we 
have  the  more  they  seem  to  want,  and  the 
more  intelligent  they  grow  in  Sunday  School 
methods  the  more  they  seem  to  feel  there 
is  yet  to  learn.  As  the  class  is  gathered 
from  all  over  the  Province  this  means  much 
for  the  cause.  We  have  the  same  jolly  times 
in  these  model  Sunday  School  hours  that 
people  have  at  home,  and  the  touch  with 
the  children  keeps  all  the  members  young. 
After  the  Sunday  School  hour  half  an  hour 
is  spent  in  learning  new  hymns.  The  Fili- 
pino people,  as  I told  you  when  at  home,  are 
passionately  fond  of  music,  and  they  like  the 
same  songs  that  we  do  in  the  United  States. 

In  the  evening  we  hold  preaching  services 
and  the  crowd  that  listens  is  as  large  on  the 
outside  as  on  the  inside  of  the  chapel.  The 
chapel  is  quite  open  and  many  can  therefore 
hear  on  the  outside.  One  of  the  preachers 
was  a last  year’s  graduate  from  the  Semi- 
nary and  we  are  very  proud  and  happy  in 
him.  He  has  a splendid  spirit  and  an  open, 
frank,  kindly  face.  Everybody  loves  him  and 
the  last  Sabbath  he  spent  with  us  in  Manila 
the  Malate  Congregation,  to  whom  he  had 
preached  a great  deal  during  the  years  of 
his  seminary  course,  was  very  much  in  tears 
at  the  thought  of  his  leaving.  But  he  has 
gone  to  a fine  work  and  is  getting  splendid 
results.  If  we  could  multiply  such  as  he  all 
over  the  Islands  we  would  have  many  godly, 
happy  people  in  every  town.  He  married  one 
of  the  young  ladies  in  the  Girls’  School  and 
19 


20 


( hapel  nf  I ’.inn  n.  nml  part  of  the  congregation 


they  make  a very  efficient  and  lovable  couple. 

Another  one  of  the  preachers  was  a young 
man  who  has  not  come  to  the  Seminary  yet 
but  who  is  taking  his  college  course  in  our 
Silliman  Institute  at  Dumaguete.  He  has  a 
fine  command  of  English,  speaks  beautiful 
Tagalog  and  was  born  for  the  platform.  He 
is  but  twenty-one  years  of  age  but  has  the 
poise  of  a mature  man  and  the  grace  of  a 
finished,  polished  speaker.  He  neither  rants 
nor  grows  stupid.  We  have  much  hope  of 
the  value  he  will  be  to  his  people  and  his 
province  when  he  goes  into  the  field  as  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel. 

Another  man  we  have  working  in  this  field 
is  very  acceptable  to  the  churches  and  much 
loved  by  the  people.  But  he  was  the  utter 
despair  of  all  his  teachers  while  he  was  try- 
ing to  go  through  the  Seminary.  No  one  has 
the  record  of  his  ever  having  passed  an  ex- 
amination and  it  was  a great  day  when  he 
managed  to  make  a recitation.  In  one  ex- 
amination I had  asked  an  interpretation  of 
the  parable  of  the  Sower,  and  found  the  fol- 
lowing paragraph  on  his  paper  when  he 
handed  it  in.  Said  he  (in  Spanish) : “Our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  given  such  a fine  ex- 
position of  this  parable  that  I could  not  pos- 
sibly improve  upon  it,  and  professor,  please 
excuse  me — I have  not  time  to  write  any 
further  on  this  examination.” 

But  whether  he  could  pass  an  examination 
or  not  he  certainly  has  a manner  so  simple 
and  kindly  and  moreover  seems  so  in  sym- 
pathy with  his  message  and  his  hearers  that 
people  greatly  enjoy  hearing  him,  and  I pre- 
sume in  many  ways  he,  in  his  own  fashion, 
carried  away  from  the  course  as  much  as 
his  classmates,  for  he  has  certainly  proven 
himself  a helpful,  earnest  man.  Perhaps  he 
will  stick  to  the  plan  of  not  trying  to  im- 
prove upon  the  explanation  of  the  Master 
and  that  may  in  part  account  for  his  success. 

21 


Somehow  there  is  a sweetness  and  sim- 
plicity in  the  way  the  Gospel  is  received  by 
those  who  count  it  precious  that  gives  to 
the  heart  a deep  satisfaction.  To  these 
people  the  story  of  the  Christ  is  full  of 
romance  and  charm,  and  to  them  the  telling 
of  it  to  others  is  a blessed  privilege.  They 
accept  His  commandments  as  the  rule  of 
their  lives,  and  although  they  have  their 
failings,  as  sadly  enough  do  we  all,  we  be- 
lieve they  are  honestly  and  consistently  try- 
ing to  live  the  Christ  life  among  their  fellow 
men  and  because  of  such  the  world  is  richer 
and  all  life  made  happier. 


22 


THE  STORY  OF  SILLIMAN  — AN 
OPPORTUNITY 


H.  W.  Langheim,  M.D. 


Fourteen  years  ago  the  thirteenth  of  last 
August  the  U.  S.  Army  occupied  Manila.  In 
the  same  year,  1898,  the  Presbyterian  Church 
sent  its  first  missionaries  “to  occupy  the 
land,”  and  in  August  of  1901,  three  years 
after  the  stars  and  stripes  had  been  unfurled 
over  the  8,000,000  Filipino  people,  our  mis- 
sion established  an  outpost  at  Dumaguete, 
the  capitol  of  Oriental  Negros,  situated  near 
the  southern  end  of  the  archipelago. 

To  the  late  Hon.  H.  B.  Silliman,  of  Cohoes, 
New  York,  a friend  of  Mount  Hermon,  Tuske- 
gee.  Park  and  Hampton  and  numerous  other 
institutions  of  learning,  the  Filipinos  are  in- 
debted for  the  establishment  of  an  institu- 
tion doing  more  than  any  other  agency  for 
the  moral  and  spiritual  uplift  of  their  race, 
and  the  church  for  a work  which,  to  use  Dr. 
Silliman’s  own  words,  “challenges  compari- 
son with  any  other  mission  agency  of  our 
church.” 

The  readers  of  this  leaflet  are,  or  should 
be,  familiar  with  the  phenomenal  growth  of 
Silliman  Institute.  How,  in  August  of  1901, 
it  began  with  15  students  who  ate  and  slept 
in  the  home  of  the  missionary  in  charge,  and 
classes  were  held  in  the  basement  of  the 
home,  and  how,  year  after  year,  the  number 
of  students  has  increased,  always  so  much 
beyond  the  ability  of  the  Board  to  supply 
teachers  and  provide  quarters  to  accommo- 
date them,  so  that  each  year  dozens  and 
in  recent  years  hundreds  of  bright  young 
men,  eager  for  knowledge  and  seeking  to 
know  “what  they  must  do  to  inherit  eternal 
life”  are  turned  away. 

23 


24 


Winners  from  thirteen  high  schools  and  Sllllman  Institute  at 

Sllllman  Field 


That  the  harvest  being  reaped  from  the 
seed  sown  by  Dr.  Silliman  is  not  an  im- 
aginary or  empty  one  is  evident  whether  we 
consider  it  solely  as  an  evangelizing  influ- 
ence or  whether  we  consider  the  by-products 
of  the  effort. 

As  far  back  as  1904  President  W.  H.  Taft, 
then  Civil  Covernor  of  the  Philippine  Islands, 
said  that  “Silliman  Institute  had  done  more 
to  pacify  the  island  of  Negros  than  all  the 
efforts  of  the  American  government.” 

In  April  of  this  year,  Acting  Governor- 
General  Newton  W.  Gilbert,  in  a communi- 
cation to  Dr.  Hibbard,  president  of  Silliman, 
said : 

“In  my  judgment  you  are  doing  a very  impor- 
tant and  meritorious  work  in  your  institution. 
On  the  occasions  on  which  I have  visited  your 
school  I have  always  been  impressed  with  the 
spirit  of  earnestness  and  singleness  of  purpose 
which  has  seemed  to  characterize  both  the  faculty 
and  the  students.” 

And  Mr.  P.  S.  O’Reilly,  Government  In- 
spector of  Private  Schools,  writes  with  par- 
ticular reference  to  the  industrial  work  of 
Silliman: 

"This  work  I consider  of  the  greatest  impor- 
tance to  the  Filipino  youth,  and  the  work  now 
being  done  by  Silliman  Institute  will  be  of  great- 
est value  in  solving  the  economic  questions.  With 
the  new  buildings  you  propose  to  build  and  with 
the  development  of  the  large  agricultural  lands 
at  your  disposal  (the  institution  owns  a farm, 
purchased  by  Dr.  Silliman)  Silliman  Institute 
should  play  a very  important  part  in  the  uplift 
and  betterment  of  those  with  whom  we  have  to 
deal.” 

The  above  statements  are  given  that  the 
reader  may  appreciate  the  attitude  of  the 
officials  of  the  government  toward  this  im- 
portant branch  of  the  work  of  our  church. 

That  it  has  the  approval  of  the  rank  and 
file  of  the  Filipino  people  is  evidenced  by 
the  freedom  and  eagerness  with  which  the 
parents  send  their  sons  to  Silliman.  Prac- 
tically every  one  of  the  more  than  30  prov- 
25 


inces  is  represented  in  the  enrollment.  They 
come  from  every  walk  of  life,  rich  and  poor. 
Filipino,  Spaniard,  Mestizo,  Chinese  and 
Siamese  throw  Castillian  training  and  tradi- 
tion and  oriental  custom  to  the  wind  and 
live  as  one  big  family.  Here  Catalino,  the 
son  of  Casillo,  the  mountain  bandit,  who  de- 
fied the  authorities  so  many  years,  sits  at 
the  same  table  with  the  son  of  the  Ex-Gov- 
ernor of  the  province  and  Jose,  son  of  one 
of  the  wealthiest  and  most  influential  hacien- 
deros  of  Negros,  comes  to  study  hour  and 
sits  with  Claudio,  a former  servant  of  the 
family.  Here  the  proud  Tagalog  sits  in  class 
with  his  peaceable  Visayan  brother  and  his 
war-loving,  fanatical  neighbor,  the  Moro,  or 
his  more  distant  neighbor  from  the  new  re- 
public of  China,  or  Siam. 

Esteban  and  Miguel,  sons  of  Don  Emelio 
Aguinaldo,  the  famous  insurrecto  leader,  the 
man  who  made  General  Funston  famous,  and 
Thip,  the  son  of  a major  surgeon  in  the 
Siamese  Army  are  among  the  students. 

The  students  are  in  demand  for  positions 
in  every  department  of  the  government  and 
in  every  part  of  the  archipelago.  In  fact 
offers  come  so  frequent  and  such  flattering 
inducements  are  held  out  that  it  is  a great 
temptation,  to  which  many  of  the  students 
yield,  to  leave  school  and  go  to  work  before 
they  finish  their  course.  The  Fiscal  (prose- 
cuting attorney)  of  one  of  the  northern 
provinces,  is  an  old  Silliman  student  and  the 
deputy  treasurer  of  another  province.  At 
the  elections  held  in  the  Islands  last  June, 
three  former  Silliman  students  were  elected 
to  the  office  of  Municipal  President,  and  so 
in  the  Bureau  of  Education  and  the  Bureau 
of  Public  Works  and  in  banks  and  business 
houses  throughout  the  islands,  and  as  min- 
isters of  the  Gospel  and  Evangelists,  these 
young  men  who  have  been  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Gospel  are  to  be  found.  Who 
26 


will  attempt  to  estimate  what  the  influence 
of  these  young  men  will  be  in  raising  the 
moral  and  spiritual  status  of  this  8,000,000 
people  who  have  been  in  a school  of  des- 
potism and  bigotry  for  300  years:  a school 
where  the  spiritual  leaders  of  these  people 
were,  as  a class,  guilty  of  every  crime  in 
the  calendar  and  degenerate  to  such  a de- 
gree of  profligacy  and  debauchery  that  we, 
of  western  training  and  ideals,  can  hardly 
conceive. 

Last  spring  the  commencement  exercises 
of  the  third  graduating  class  to  go  out  from 
Silliman  Institute  were  held.  Seven  young 
men  received  the  degree  of  B.A.  Five  of 
the  seven  are  members  of  the  church.  Six 
are  continuing  their  studies  at  the  University. 
Three  will  study  medicine,  two  law  and  one 
agriculture.  The  other  member  of  the  class 
is  at  Ellinwood  Seminary  preparing  for  the 
ministry. 

The  present  Senior  Class  is  composed  of 
twelve  young  men  of  whom  Silliman  is  justly 
proud.  Nine  of  the  twelve  are  members  of 
the  church,  six  of  the  number  taking  the 
step  after  entering  the  Institute. 

Two  of  the  three  Filipino  ministers  of  the 
Gospel  in  Oriental  Negros  are  from  the 
ranks  of  Silliman  and  all  the  Evangelists  in 
charge  of  the  churches  in  the  towns  where 
it  is  impossible  to  supply  an  ordained  man. 
Thus  the  school  is  caring  for  churches  and 
congregations  of  many  thousand  members. 
One  church  alone,  that  of  Quijulngan,  has  a 
membership  of  over  1,000. 

The  total  enrollment  of  students  last  year 
was  589.  Note  the  increase  in  1 1 years  from 
15  to  589.  Two  hundred  and  fifty  of  this 
number  lived  in  the  dormitories. 

Silliman  opened  its  twelfth  school  year 
June  4,  1912.  There  are  at  present  325 
students  living  in  the  college,  an  increase  of 
75  over  last  year.  It  would  have  been  im- 
27 


possible  to  care  for  this  increase  but  for 
the  generosity  of  Hon.  Demetrio  Larena,  for 
five  years  Governor  of  Oriental  Negros,  a 
Presbyterian  elder  and  the  only  Filipino  trus- 
tee of  Silliman,  who  vacated  his  own  resi- 
dence, near  the  campus,  to  take  care  of  the 
increase. 

In  addition  to  the  increase  of  75  over  last 
year,  more  than  100  young  men,  seeking 
light,  were  turned  away. 

Last  year  more  than  100  students  con- 
fessed Christ  by  joining  the  church.  Con- 
sider these  figures  also:  One-fifth  of  the 

entire  student  body  in  one  year. 

Did  Dr.  Silliman  exaggerate  when  he  said 
the  result  of  his  investment  “challenges  com- 
parison with  any  other  mission  agency  of 
our  church?” 

The  business  needs  to  be  enlarged  that 
the  results  may  be  increased.  Fifteen  thou- 
sand dollars  added  to  the  investment  will 
supply  a dormitory  to  care  for  150  Filipino 
young  men  who,  if  given  an  opportunity,  will 
go  out  prepared,  physically,  mentally  and 
morally,  to  help  in  the  emancipation  and  up- 
lifting of  their  race. 


28 


1827 


Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
of  the 

Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S.  A. 
150  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York 


Price,  2 cents 


Oct.  1 


/ 


, 1912 


the  WILLIAM  DAItLi NO  1'ltKSS,  NEW  VOItlv 


